The USC Surgical Skills Training and Education Center is a state-of-the-art educational facility that provides the ideal environment to teach fundamental and advanced technical skills and procedures. Based on the philosophy that skills are better learned when afforded the opportunity for deliberate practice in a controlled environment, our Center has become the premier location in Southern California for Surgical Skills Training.

The Mission of the Center is to provide a simulated environment where students, residents, and practicing physicians can learn and hone their technical skills prior to performing procedures on a patient. Traditionally, these skills have been taught at the bedside or in the operating room on real patients. With the explosion of recent technology and simulation models, the rising cost and unavailability of operating room time, the increasing complexity of procedures and devices, the risk associated with practicing procedures on real patients, and the economic and developmental pressures to limit the length of training, medical and surgical educators are forced to "re-think" the traditional ways of training current and future physicians.

The Center has the facilities and equipment needed to provide a comprehensive approach to surgical education. It is comprised of a Technical Skills Laboratory and a Simulation Suite. The Laboratory is equipped with eight tables and is capable of handling approximately 24 trainees at a time for educational and training sessions. The Simulation Laboratory houses two METI simulators that are used extensively by the Navy and other programs to practice a team approach to patient care. The entire facility is supported by a state-of-the-art audio-visual system designed by Stryker Communications and has teleconferencing capabilities.

The Center has an established curriculum that has become an integral component of the Surgical Resident Training Program. “Intern Boot camp” is a program for incoming surgical interns that provide them with the surgical skills that they will require during their first year of training. Subsequent to this course, PGY 2-4 resident participate in a curriculum that encompasses training modules specific to each surgical discipline. In addition to resident training, the Center holds several workshops aimed at teaching medical students basic procedural skills and holds several industry sponsored CME courses.

The USC Surgical Skills and Education Center provides the ideal environment to teach and evaluate procedural and technical skills for all disciplines. If you are interested in using the Center please contact us for a tour of the facilities.